Get in-game currency for sharing pictures in always-online Need for Speed

Need for Speed developer Ghost Games has responded to concerns regarding the game’s always-online requirement. According to the EA-owned studio, making it mandatory for the game to be connected to an internet connection will lead to several key innovations.

Speaking in an interview with Official Xbox Magazine, the developer explains that Autolog has become an essential component of Need for Speed titles over the years, and this step has been taken in order to drive new social features that are only possible via an always-online environment.

Autolog will now sport a more human voice, and will treat your friends’ game sessions as part of your narrative experience.

We’ve been pretty big with Autolog throughout the years and, as we know, it’s a really powerful feature,” he explained. “This time around we’re going to give it more of a human voice. It will treat your friend’s play as if it is part of the narrative experience.

In addition, the new Need for Speed title will also feature an in-game image capturing system, through which players can share pictures of interesting moments on the Need for Speed network, where anyone can “like” them. In return for every like, players will receive in-game currency.

We also have a new snapshot system as well,” he explained. “Which is taking pictures of a lot of different moments–[they go] out to the Need for Speed network where people can ‘like’ them, and those likes are being pushed back into the game as currency. So you get progression from sharing your photos. The Xbox One has really good built-in systems to make videos and stream them, which we are also going to use.

The fundamental idea with these features is to deliver a more social experience to gamers. However, whether the idea will sit well with the Need for Speed community in the long run remains to be seen.

Would you give up offline play for a more socially-connected game world? Let us know in the comments below.